


Retirement Blues

by Butterfly



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Gen, Implications
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-12-07
Updated: 2004-12-07
Packaged: 2017-10-26 18:23:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/286481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Butterfly/pseuds/Butterfly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack's retiring and Sam can't figure out why.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Retirement Blues

**Author's Note:**

> **Timeline:** Set sometime post S8's _Endgame_.

She's never really been one for long good-byes, and this one was shaping up to be the longest she's ever been to.

It's hard to smile and watch everyone else have an easier time letting go.

Even General O'Neill seems to be, and he's the one leaving.

He's shaking Major Berger's hand enthusiastically, an easy smile on his face, and even from here she can hear his generous and frequent invitations for any and all to come out to his Minnesota cabin for a little fishing and relaxation. He looks wonderful, done up in his Class A's -- for the last time, he says cheerfully to anyone who mentions how he looks.

She seems to be the only person who can see what a mistake it all is. Even Daniel, who's spending his time chatting with General McLean over by the banquet table, doesn't agree with her. When she spoke to him last week, he told her that Jack had earned his retirement a hundred times over and deserved to enjoy it. Daniel's even going to be the first guest up at the General's cabin.

Sam would never disagree that General O'Neill deserves to enjoy a good retirement, but she can't understand why he would leave _now_. The fight with the Goa'uld is finally dying down, but it isn't over and Earth could still lose, still get swallowed up. Yes, he'd seemed less than enthusiastic about becoming a general at all, but he'd been doing such a wonderful job.

There isn't a soldier or civilian on the base who would say a word against him. General O'Neill has always been unconventional, but he'd been _theirs_.

And while McLean seems like a very competent woman, she wouldn't be Jack.

Everything about this situation feels so wrong.

Sam takes a sip of her wine, a vintage slightly too dry for her taste, while she talks to Major Davis without really taking note of the subject. It's just military smalltalk and she can handle _that_ in her sleep. Hopefully, he won't notice that most of her attention is on General O'Neill, and trying to figure out why he'd made his decision.

There has to be a reason. When she'd asked him -- and she's still slightly horrified and impressed that she actually _did_ that -- he'd just said that it was time. That was it. Time for what, he hadn't mentioned.

Teal'c had been the only person who even seemed to give her concerns a moment's thought -- though, granted, she couldn't tell many people -- and even he had dismissed the General's reasoning as ultimately irrelevant. His opinion was that if O'Neill thought it was appropriate to retire, seemed pleased with the decision, and didn't wish to give a complete reason, that it was most likely a private matter that they should leave alone.

Again, Sam doesn't _disagree_.

It just seems so sudden, so unexpected.

She looks over at General O'Neill again, watching as he hands a fresh glass of wine to General Hammond. Teal'c's right, he does look happy with his decision.

But there _has_ to be a reason.

 __

the end


End file.
